At only 26, rapper Lil' Flip is thinking about his legacy

Published 5:30 am, Friday, March 30, 2007

Lil' Flip takes it easy at the Hotel Derek in between school visits and promotions for his new album, I Need Mine.

Lil' Flip takes it easy at the Hotel Derek in between school visits and promotions for his new album, I Need Mine.

Photo: Mayra Beltran, Chronicle

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Freestyle rapper Lil' Flip, whose real name is Wesley Eric Weston Jr., launched his career as a teen in the Houston hip-hop scene, then went national. He's now primed and ready to take on the world - and not just with music. less

Freestyle rapper Lil' Flip, whose real name is Wesley Eric Weston Jr., launched his career as a teen in the Houston hip-hop scene, then went national. He's now primed and ready to take on the world - and not ... more

Photo: Mayra Beltran, Houston Chronicle

At only 26, rapper Lil' Flip is thinking about his legacy

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Lil' Flip looks comfortable — decked out in a Hotel Derek robe and Ralph Lauren flip-flops — but he does a little light grousing about a perceived lack of respect from his inner circle.

"If Beyoncé wants something done, it gets done," he explains. "If Flip wants something, he's lucky to get three out of 10."

He laughs at his own put-down.

Complaint aside, Lil' Flip actually seems to be doing OK on this day. It's past noon, yet he's just getting going, having worked his way through a big plate of breakfast in front of a wide-screen TV with the shades pulled in a sprawling hotel suite.

"I don't like it too bright," he says.

Flip's manager points out the rapper has had a few late nights in a row. "He visits two schools a day and two clubs a night," the manager says.

Flip is promoting I Need Mine, another lengthy double album by the Freestyle King. Despite Flip's often playful manner, he takes the album title seriously.

Flip sprung on the scene here as a teenage protégé of DJ Screw and took his rhymes national years before a new wave of Houston hip-hop was nationally recognized (his breakthrough Leprechaun still sounds fresh). Sunshine gave Flip a hit in 2004, but he was a little early to cash in the way others here did in 2005. Instead he found himself in the middle of silly feuds with other rappers — here and elsewhere — and stuck in a sour label deal.

But the guy doesn't sport a four-leaf clover medallion for nothing. If he doesn't believe good luck seeks people out, he certainly believes in creating your own.

"It just seems like as rappers, we tend to help everybody else," he says of his new album's title. "Family members, friends. A lot of times people take it for granted. At this point, with this record, I want to put the focus on me."

At 26, a veteran

Several times Flip talks legacy, which isn't the craziest topic for a 26-year-old who's been doing this for a decade. He doesn't stick to the usual touchstones (Tupac, Biggie). "I want to have a legacy like
the Beatles
," he says. "I want to sell 150 million records."

Flip also has worked up an alcoholic beverage that will soon hit retail.

He has an XM radio show, and he's filming his every move and uploading clips onto YouTube, where he eventually plans to host Lil' Flip's The American Rapper, a new talent search.

"It'll be the opposite of American Idol," he says. "I'm looking for somebody who wants to understand the rap game. It won't be a mockery of rap. There will be media training, freestyle work, you'll learn to carry yourself."

A two-album deal also will come of the competition. It's Flip's opportunity to try and help a young talent the way Screw helped him. Flip is never at a loss for words until Screw comes up, at which point his answers are preceded by long pauses.

"Mostly I just want to keep his name out there," he says.

He looks surprised when it's mentioned that Screw has been gone for seven years.

But where Screw's bag was slowing things down, Flip's work ethic is caffeinated by comparison.

There are 37 tracks on I Need Mine, and he points out that he flung every style and sub-style he could at the wall.

"You have to have these different sounds to break things up," he says. "There's girl songs, club songs, sad songs, street songs, but not two of them together."

While the music biz seems to be moving back toward the single, Flip's defiantly album-minded.

Something for everyone

"Nowadays it's about having one hot song," he says. "Well, I still want to have one hot album. I feel like every song on here could be a single.

"I've been putting out doubles since my first record. I like to give people a reason to buy them. Why buy Flip's albums? Well, I don't limit myself to urban music. There's some rock 'n' roll on there."

He points to Find My Way, which is built on a cool acoustic guitar groove.

Flip says he has no regrets about starting so early.

"I feel like I've learned things. I was able to see how people treat you. How they take advantage of young artists."

There also have been personal finance lessons that he hopes to pass along to the winner of his reality show.

"You know, simple stuff: Don't buy jewelry unless you have a place to live. You have to set your priorities."

He suggests that the new album is a result of his ongoing education about the business.

"I wrote more than usual on this one," he says. "It's cool to freestyle, but sometimes that's difficult to convert to records. I wanted to come with more concepts, some messages.

"There's less cursing on this record. Not that I usually curse that much."